GeForce GTX 280 vs Radeon R9 M280X

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 280 and Radeon R9 M280X you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people GeForce GTX 280 will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 M280X will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon R9 M280X is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon R9 M280X is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Radeon R9 M280X here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 Radeon R9 M280X
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 6-pin & 8-pin
Memory type GDDR3 Not Listed
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 280 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 M280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M280X - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and Radeon R9 M280X - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 280 is 396 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M280X.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 M280X - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 1−2 2−3
ultra / 1080p 0−1 1−2
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 12−14 14−16
medium / 1080p 3−4 4−5
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 16% more, than GeForce GTX 280.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 Radeon R9 M280X
Architecture Tesla 2.0 GCN
Code name GT200 Saturn XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 16 June 2008 1 February 2015
Pipelines 240 896
Core clock speed 1296 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 1,400 million 2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 48.2 billion/sec 61.60
Floating-point performance 622.1 gflops 1,792 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 512 Bit
Memory clock speed 1107 MHz
Memory bandwidth 141.7 GB/s 96 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model 4.0 6.3
OpenGL 2.1 4.4
OpenCL 1.1 Not Listed
Vulkan N/A
CUDA +
FreeSync +
CUDA cores 240
Bus support Not Listed
Height 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI S/PDIF
Laptop size large
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
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